With the issue of gay "marriage" assuming national significance, we would be well served to familiarize ourselves with the arguments of 19th-century conservative theorist Louis de Bonald against divorce as we rethink the nature and purpose of marriage.

A lot of ink has been spilled in the past several days over Sunday's 40th anniversary of the famous break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. For nearly a year the major media appeared to accept then-Attorney General and future prison inmate John Mitchell's description of the event as a "third-rate burglary" by some pro-Nixon knight-errants in a vain effort to get some "dirt" on the opposition. Little more was heard of the break-in for the rest of 1972, and it surely did no harm to Nixon's political fortunes as the President that November carried 49 states, 10 years to the day after losing an election for Governor in California and his announcement to reporters that they would not "have Nixon to kick around anymore." It was the completion of one of the greatest comebacks in American political history.

In a very real sense, however, the Watergate scandal that drove Richard Nixon from the White House, did not start — or end — with Nixon.

Last night’s 84th Annual Academy Awards proved to be relatively entertaining, particularly since there were a number of first-time winners. The iconic Hollywood event was hosted this year by famed comedian Billy Crystal, a nine-time host of the Academy Awards. Eddie Murphy and producer Brett Ratner reportedly quit in November over criticism that Ratner made controversial remarks about gays. Crystal got the show off to an excellent start with a montage full of stars including Justin Beiber and George Clooney, who planted a wet kiss on Crystal. Crystal also did his usual goofy song to introduce best-picture nominees.